Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Vulnerability

As I have been watching the news stories about the devastation in Japan I have cycled though a myriad of reactions and emotions, worry, shame, anger, terror, frustration, relief, you name it. Tragedies bestow the gift of reminding us of the nature of impermanence, the edges of our existence, and our very vulnerability. Which got me thinking.....
Embracing our vulnerability in our modern society is often not encouraged, taught, or accepted. Why is that? And what are the repercussions of this fact?

I know I share in this collective virus of perceived invulnerability with my own disguise of "I'm fine, don't worry about me. I got things under control." We all hide behind our chosen masks (intelligence, perfection, toughness, victim, competence -take your pick) hiding what we fear we lack in ourselves. Perhaps, hoping that if we can convince the world of our blemish free armor we might convince ourselves. Yet like a simmering pot of falsehood we feel the undercurrent of anxiety and we wonder what it is. We find ourselves looking for joy in the world of ten thousand things. We find ourselves thinking the worst at the precise moment we are filled with peace. We seek to numb ourselves from this feeling of not knowing, of fear, of insecurity. Maybe we lose ourselves in work, or food, or alcohol, or drugs (prescribed or otherwise), or shopping, or being taken care of, or gambling, or being busy, or being ill, as we try to bury our vulnerability deeper under our distractions. Yet we feel lost, confused, detached, frustrated, lethargic, maybe bored...because we are...

The consequences of numbing are such that we cannot numb selectively. When we numb what we fear we also numb what we love and we forget that the extraordinary life moments are found in the vulnerability of the ordinary ones.

Today I want to share with you a informative and inspiring link that someone wise shared with me (thanks Tracy!) about these very ideas.

"As earthly creatures continually subject to relative disappointment, pain, and loss, we cannot avoid feeling vulnerable. Yet as an open channel through which great love enters this world, the human heart remains invincible. Being wholly and genuinely human means standing firmly planted in both dimensions, celebrating that we are both vulnerable and indestructible at the same time. Here at this crossroads where yes and no, limitless love and human limitation, intersect, we discover the essential human calling: progressively unveiling the sun in our heart, that it may embrace the whole of ourselves and the whole of creation within the sphere of its radiant warmth."

2 comments:

Oh I loved that TED talk so much. So much. I'm going to share your blog post right now... what a lovely 15 minutes it was for me to stop my so-called busy life this AM and listen to her message. Thank you so much for sharing... xoxo

Aleka, your post is timely for some personal issues in my life right now, and so I am very grateful for it. Love this woman and can't wait to watch more of her videos! Just so timely! No coincidences, huh?